Monthly Archive for April, 2011

More study advised on connection between food dyes and hyperactivity

Published on April 30, 2011 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

An advisory panel from the FDA has suggested that the agency study more about the tie between food coloring and childhood hyperactivity. This said, they claim that the products that have these dyes do not currently need warnings.

The committee voted 8 to 6 for food packages not to have warnings on packages with food colorings. Currently the products have to list the food colorings, but contain no warning about a potential link to hyperactivity. This committee consisted of doctors, scientists and consumer representatives.

The panel did agree with the FDA and indicated that there is not sufficient enough evidence to say that specific food dyes cause hyperactivity in most children. However, they were in accordance that diets that do not contain food dyes seem to work well for a considerable amount of children with behavior problems.

During a two-day meeting, the advisory committee looked at the links between the dyes and attention deficit disorder. The FDA agrees with studies that show  hyperactivity and other behavioral problems are worsened by food dyes, as well as other substances found in foods. For most children, there is no proven effect.

The FDA and the panel now must decide if all this should lead to more regulation. Academics who have been studying the issue, as well as public advocates, both agree that the dyes do not seem to be the main cause of hyperactivity, but they claim that the effects of specific dyes on a percentage of children has caused enough concern to support a ban on the additives.

The meeting was held by the FDA in reaction to a 2008 petition that was filed by the advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest to ban Yellow 5, Red 40 and six other dyes. The director of the group, Michael Jacobson, said that he is disappointed that panel members were looking for exact scientific evidence that the link exists. He is pleased  that at least the FDA is accepting the fact that food coloring may affect hyperactivity in some children.

Even though dyes are still found in U.S. foods, certain companies have decreased the use of dyes in food that are sold in Europe.

Medicare may pay for prostate cancer drug

Published on April 13, 2011 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Medicare will most likely pay for the prostate cancer drug according to Medicare officials. The prostate drug, Provenge, extends one’s life for about four months and the cost is a whopping $93,000 per patient.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid claim that the bio-tech drug stood up to tests as being a “reasonable and necessary” medicine. This allows thousands of men to receive the drug through the federal government.

The agency will be taking comments for 90 days before it makes a final decision.

Consumer advocates claim insurance bill is ‘anti-consumer’

Published on April 11, 2011 in Health Insurance. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

 

The new insurance bill will allow people who don’t have insurance coverage to get health insurance. The bill was approved by a panel of North Carolina lawmakers, but consumer supporters believe that the bill is “anti-consumer”. The tension is really escalating concerning the health reform in North Carolina.

The bill will make it so that individuals and small businesses with limited funds, will be able to get affordable insurance.

Democrat Verla Insko says the re-write of the bill performed by the House Health Committee doesn’t do much to help the uninsured. She said, “the bill, as written, is really written for the benefit of the industry and not for the benefit of the people who will be using it.” She drafted an alternative bill that has numerous compromises worked out by a task force that the state convened. She also says that her bill will not get a hearing, claiming that Republicans want to run their own bill with a substantial input from the insurance industry that helped draft it. According to them, insurers have a voting seat on the governing board of the benefits exchange. Consumer advocates, as well as the North Carolina Insurance Commissioner, proclaim that that is a conflict of interest, because insurers will also be competing for business in the exchange.

This said, Lew Borman of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina doesn’t agree. He said, “whoever is appointed by whatever authority would have to fall under the ethics guidelines that had been passed a couple years ago. And again we believe that insurers add important expertise to the discussion.”

A non-voting seat on the board has been recommended for insurers by the Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin. However, insurers, doctors, hospitals and the business community currently have most of the votes on the exchange board.

While consumer advocates suggest that the bill doesn’t do much to guarantee that the coverage that is offered in the marketplace will really be affordable, Borman, of Blue Cross Blue Shield, says that that is not the point of the legislation. He said, “it meets the federal guidelines and mandates to put together a web-based marketplace. The exchange doesn’t manage costs. This really advertises those costs and those plans across the board from Blue Cross and other insurers.”

Consumer groups are asking that the governing board of the marketplace be able to put a limit on premiums and demand uniform benefit plans so it will be easier for people to be able to comparison shop. The current bill that was approved by the House Health Committee does not do these things. The new measure will be considered by the House Insurance Committee.

5 myths that keep some from a good workout

Published on April 6, 2011 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Here are 5 myths that make many people believe that they have to use a machine for the best workout:

Myth No. 1 Weight training will make you look bulky.

Of course this one seems to especially frighten the ladies. The truth is that if you need weight training if you want to change your body. Also, weight training can help prevent conditions like osteoporosis as you age.

Myth No. 2 Cardio burns more fat than other exercises.

Believe it or not, resistance training, such as the use of elastic bands, tends to burn the most calories across the board. While you are doing cardio, you are burning calories during the exercise. Now with resistance training, you also burn calories during the exercise, but more importantly, you continue to burn them for up to an astonishing 48 hours following your exercise! This is called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption or after-burn. Resistance training also revs up you metabolism, improves insulin resistance and turns off the fat-storing enzymes in your body.

Myth No. 3 I must not be working out hard enough since I don’t feel sore or have any pain.

Don’t depend on soreness to tell yourself that you are working out correctly. Soreness can come from things such as how many reps you did to what you ate before you worked out. Wearing a heart-rate monitor and working at 60 to 85 percent of your maximum rate will help you to have a quality workout.

Myth No. 4 I will never get more flexible because my muscles have always been tight.

Of course, not exercising can make you inflexible, but exercising the wrong way can cause muscle imbalances, such as working one part of your body more than the other.

You will move with more ease and have more range of motion if you condition your core correctly. Work on training your weak areas and you should improve.

Myth No. 5 To get a total workout, you must use machines.

It seems true, judging on how many machines there are in most gyms. The problem with machines is that they lock you into a certain range of motion that doesn’t copy real everyday movements. They don’t always adjust to your body height and type. Free weights can work the smaller stabilizing muscles that machines can not.